I'm wondering if Republicans actually know better?

Post Reply New Topic

I only say this because it seems to me that some congressman don't have a basic understanding of how things work.
A good example since voting for state representatives is coming up. (R-TX) Joe Barton seems to believe that wind is not a viable energy resource. To some extent I agree because wind is not as efficient right now to be used immediately, but that's not why Barton disagrees with it. He disagrees with it because it is a " finite " resource, and it would be in the best interest of environmentalists to not switch to wind power. Here is the quote which I'm referencing to.
"Wind is God?s way of balancing heat. Wind is the way you shift heat from areas where it?s hotter to areas where it?s cooler. That?s what wind is. Wouldn't it be ironic if in the interest of global warming we mandated massive switches to energy, which is a finite resource, which slows the winds down, which causes the temperature to go up? Now, I?m not saying that?s going to happen, Mr. Chairman, but that is definitely something on the massive scale. I mean, it does make some sense. You stop something, you can?t transfer that heat, and the heat goes up. It?s just something to think about." - Joe Barton


There is so much stupid in this quote I can't even think straight, but I will try to do so. Ignoring the God part he said wind is how you shift heat from one place to another. No, I'm pretty sure warm air rises up, and cool air replaces it. That is at least the basic idea of how it works that is wind. It is a finite resource, and if we harness it we will slow the winds down. Which causes the temperature to go up. I'm fairly certain wind is not a finite resource unlike fossil fuels which this man has agreed to use measures such as Fracking to extract natural gas. He then adds " Now, I'm not saying that is going to happen, Mr. Chairman " Mostly because it won't since again wind has nothing to do with global warming. Does this man even have a education beyond high school? <- rhetorical question by the way
Yet this man is running for a position of power, and what scares me is people will vote for him.

Another is (R-TX) Greg Abbott here below are some of his views. for those of you who are wondering below is his stance regarding the 10th Amendment of the constitution.

This country is seeing a federal government that aggressively intrudes into our personal lives, our businesses, and our bank accounts?completely disregarding the powers delegated to the states by the United States Constitution.

To combat an overreaching federal government, Greg Abbott has filed 30 lawsuits against the Obama Administration to protect Texas? sovereignty.

From the EPA to ObamaCare, Greg Abbott has challenged every attempt by the federal government to erode our states? rights. He has led Texas to resounding legal victories that shield our state laws and ensure that our Tenth Amendment rights are not infringed upon.

Greg Abbott will relentlessly continue to make sure that Texas? constitutional rights are never held hostage by the federal government.
Ah yes, the 10th Amendment something Texans hear all too often. No thanks in part to Rick Perry who probably still believes that Texas can legally succeed from the U.S. A federal government that is intruding in our personal lives. Something that mostly happened to us during George Bush Jr. presidency. To some extent Obama's presidency as well. The infringement of our businesses and bank accounts. Well, that was the most random thing I have ever heard in a while. How is the government getting into our bank accounts exactly, more importantly what does this have to do with the tenth amendment? Which refers to how people define federal power at the time it was written. Nothing at all about getting into our bank accounts. What state rights is he talking about anyway with EPA? A institution whose sole purpose supposedly is the Protection of Environment to ObamaCare which was suppose to expand medicare coverage. There were even talks of a public option which we didn't even get, even though there are many states which needed it. Texas is a good example of this considering there are millions of Texans who go without insurance for various reasons.


I'm really struggling to comprehend the rationale of the GOP right now.

No point in trying to comprehend insane idiocy.

Ironically the state rep. himself is a prime example of one of the very reasons that we will never run out of "hot air"!

I suspect Joe Barton is smarter than he lets on, he's pretty connected to the oil industry and his constituents in Texas are all about God and oil so he's playing to his audience.

As for the 10th Amendment, it says basically that powers not explicitly granted in the constitution to the federal government do not exist and that they are reserved for the states and the people. Is every EPA regulation explicitly authorized in the constitution? Is mandating health insurance in the constitution? Saying that intrusion into our personal lives happened "mostly under GWB" is pretty silly and just straight up untrue when Obama has doubled down on every Bush era policy and expanded them and started many of his own, Obama is Bush+ and there is literally no difference between the two. Now I'll give you most republicans are just partisan hacks but so are democrats, most of Bush's biggest critics are now Obama's biggest cheerleaders and the anti-war left is nowhere to be found. Infringing on our businesses and bank accounts, what's hard to understand about that? We're overregulated, overtaxed, and overspent.

also FWIW, not a Republican

Conservative politicians know better, they just don't care. Conservative voters do not know better.

The only thing any politician cares about is getting elected or re-elected. Any benefit the constituents get is only incidental.
And on the right we say that liberal voters don't know any better.

Take the middle path Grasshopper.

But those things aren't disallowed, either.

Yet it is the people of Conservative owned states who are suffering the most under Conservative policies, yet are still ignorant enough to reelect the officials who are destroying their lives. Thank you gerrymandering. The poorest states, the states with the least number of insured, the states with the lowest wages and most oppression, pretty overwhelmingly Conservative, other than maybe the states with the lowest populations, which are mostly Conservative because they migrate to be around only those who agree with them because they are incapable of living side by side with anyone who is not in lock step with them. Thank you low information voters.

The only information most democrat voters want is to know is how much more free stuff are they going to get.

What's wrong with getting things that make one's life better? In contrast to Republicans who don't do anything for you, or worse, make things worse for you while benefiting those who don't need benefiting.

Conservative propaganda talking points memos #1 ^^^^^^^Nothing is free. The money spent helping poor people would be unnecessary if employers would pay a living wage, and stop try to destroy the middle class by attacking unions, which CREATED the middle class .Not everyone can own their own business, because not everyone can get rich just by asking daddy for money. I think employers like taking the tax credit for hiring people at such a low wage that they have to seek government assistance. Pay a decent wage to Americans and they will work for it. I know Conservatives and others have plenty of arguments against paying people a decent wage, most of those arguments made because the people making the argument are status slaves and want to maintain the delusion that having things and money put them in the aristocracy class. They don't want others in that class because that destroys the illusion that they are better than other people based on possessions and image. Conservatives must always find a reason to look down their snouts on other human beings.


Opps, my mistake. The number 1 Conservative talking point is "it's Obamas fault", but that has been number 1 since January of 2009. The taker mantra is talking point number 2. Yes, all politicians have talking points, but Conservative talking points do not even originaate with Conservative politicians. They get their talking points from Rush and Fox views. Oh, and from bloggers.

When that's the only real reason someone votes democrat with all that BS about civil rights and the environment just being whitewash for the underlying reason: More free stuff.


Wonder why it is that I always see conservatives on the average donating more money and time than liberals, then.....

More free stuff for looking out for the environment? That doesn't make any sense. And the charge that civil rights is just about getting free stuff is what the racist wing of the conservative movement have promoted. And no, I'm not calling you a racist; I'm saying you're repeating the bullsh*t promoted by racists that has been accepted in the mainstream conservative movement.
And as far as conservatives giving more than liberals - that reminds me of Jesus' parable of the poor woman who had given the only coin she had as an offering at the temple, while the rich made big show of all the riches they gave, But in the end, the poor woman had given all he had, unlike the rich, and so had in fact given more.

they're reserved to the states and the people

What if the people want those things at the federal level?